Amtrak Passenger Sues CSX Over Fatal Crash

James Daymon filed a lawsuit against CSX after the Amtrak train he was on crashed on Sunday night.

The crash, which occurred in Cayce, SC in the early hours of the morning, killed two people and injured more than 100.

The lawsuit claims that CSX made a “deliberate decision that it will be cheaper to pay compensatory damages for claims resulting from train wrecks and derailments than to install and maintain an appropriate train control system.”

The lawsuit additionally states that CSX has defied a 2008 federal law, called the Railroad Safety Improvement Act, by failing to implement modern safety technology called “positive train control” that was supposed to be in place by the end of 2015.

Over the course of the train ride, “CSX improperly locked with a padlock the rail switch, which erroneously directed through trains, into the CSX railyard onto the wrong set of tracks, which were already occupied by parked trains and rail cars.”

The engineer tried to stop the train by applying the brakes, but it still derailed.

A CSX released a statement regarding the accident: “Our sincere condolences go out to the families of the two individuals who passed away following the tragic events that took place in Cayce, South Carolina, early this morning. We remain focused on providing assistance and support to those impacted by today’s incident.”

Daymon is asking for a jury trial to award damages of $75,000.

The collision was the fourth fatal accident involving an Amtrak train since December. Just at the end of January, an Amtrak train carrying Congressional members, including House Speaker Paul Ryan, crashed into a garbage truck near Charlottesville, Virginia.

According to Amtrak President and CEO Richard Anderson, the garbage truck bypassed the crossing signals in the crash. He said that Amtrak and transportation and rail officials have to invest in more technology to make the crossings safer.

“The issue you had last week was highlighted because there were many Congressmen on that train,” he told reporters. “But I can tell you that happens almost every day somewhere in America … and it has to do with people trying to drive around the arms that are down — just like this garbage truck did — and ignoring the bells and whistles that are telling you to stop because a train’s coming.”